Welcome to Crimetown, a series produced by Marc Smerling and Zac Stuart-Pontier in partnership with Gimlet Media. Each season, we investigate the culture of crime in a different city. In Season 2, Crimetown heads to the heart of the Rust Belt: Detroit, Michigan. From its heyday as Motor City to its rebirth as the Brooklyn of the Midwest, Detroit’s history reflects a series of issues that strike at the heart of American identity: race, poverty, policing, loss of industry, the war on drugs, an ...
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Ignored Warnings: Inside Abby Zwerner Trial — How a 6-Year-Old’s Shooting Became a Case About Adult Failure
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Manage episode 517521864 series 2648298
Content provided by Tony Brueski and Real Story Media. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Tony Brueski and Real Story Media or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
A six-year-old walked into class with a 9mm pistol.
His teacher, Abby Zwerner, left on a stretcher — shot in the chest and hand while protecting her students.
Now, in a Virginia courtroom, that day is being dissected hour by hour. The $40 million civil trial of Abby Zwerner v. Ebony Parker has become a national referendum on what happens when warnings are ignored — when fear, policy, and denial outweigh basic human instinct.
In this episode, Tony Brueski takes you inside the courtroom where teachers, reading specialists, and administrators are testifying about the morning of January 6, 2023 — the morning they say they begged Assistant Principal Ebony Parker to act.
Four separate warnings.
Four opportunities to stop a six-year-old from shooting his teacher.
And nothing was done.
You’ll hear how Zwerner’s lawyers are methodically walking the jury through every missed red flag — from the teacher who saw the boy shove something heavy into his backpack to the reading specialist who asked to search it and was told, “His pockets are too small.”
The defense says it was unforeseeable — that no one could’ve predicted a child that young pulling the trigger.
The testimony says otherwise.
This isn’t just about one classroom.
It’s about every system that hears the alarm and still stands still.
And it’s about a teacher who’s forcing the system to finally answer for its silence.
#HiddenKillers #AbbyZwerner #EbonyParker #RichneckElementary #SchoolShooting #CivilTrial #Negligence #EducationSystem #JusticeForTeachers #TrueCrimePodcast #Accountability
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?
Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
His teacher, Abby Zwerner, left on a stretcher — shot in the chest and hand while protecting her students.
Now, in a Virginia courtroom, that day is being dissected hour by hour. The $40 million civil trial of Abby Zwerner v. Ebony Parker has become a national referendum on what happens when warnings are ignored — when fear, policy, and denial outweigh basic human instinct.
In this episode, Tony Brueski takes you inside the courtroom where teachers, reading specialists, and administrators are testifying about the morning of January 6, 2023 — the morning they say they begged Assistant Principal Ebony Parker to act.
Four separate warnings.
Four opportunities to stop a six-year-old from shooting his teacher.
And nothing was done.
You’ll hear how Zwerner’s lawyers are methodically walking the jury through every missed red flag — from the teacher who saw the boy shove something heavy into his backpack to the reading specialist who asked to search it and was told, “His pockets are too small.”
The defense says it was unforeseeable — that no one could’ve predicted a child that young pulling the trigger.
The testimony says otherwise.
This isn’t just about one classroom.
It’s about every system that hears the alarm and still stands still.
And it’s about a teacher who’s forcing the system to finally answer for its silence.
#HiddenKillers #AbbyZwerner #EbonyParker #RichneckElementary #SchoolShooting #CivilTrial #Negligence #EducationSystem #JusticeForTeachers #TrueCrimePodcast #Accountability
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?
Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
11556 episodes
MP3•Episode home
Manage episode 517521864 series 2648298
Content provided by Tony Brueski and Real Story Media. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Tony Brueski and Real Story Media or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
A six-year-old walked into class with a 9mm pistol.
His teacher, Abby Zwerner, left on a stretcher — shot in the chest and hand while protecting her students.
Now, in a Virginia courtroom, that day is being dissected hour by hour. The $40 million civil trial of Abby Zwerner v. Ebony Parker has become a national referendum on what happens when warnings are ignored — when fear, policy, and denial outweigh basic human instinct.
In this episode, Tony Brueski takes you inside the courtroom where teachers, reading specialists, and administrators are testifying about the morning of January 6, 2023 — the morning they say they begged Assistant Principal Ebony Parker to act.
Four separate warnings.
Four opportunities to stop a six-year-old from shooting his teacher.
And nothing was done.
You’ll hear how Zwerner’s lawyers are methodically walking the jury through every missed red flag — from the teacher who saw the boy shove something heavy into his backpack to the reading specialist who asked to search it and was told, “His pockets are too small.”
The defense says it was unforeseeable — that no one could’ve predicted a child that young pulling the trigger.
The testimony says otherwise.
This isn’t just about one classroom.
It’s about every system that hears the alarm and still stands still.
And it’s about a teacher who’s forcing the system to finally answer for its silence.
#HiddenKillers #AbbyZwerner #EbonyParker #RichneckElementary #SchoolShooting #CivilTrial #Negligence #EducationSystem #JusticeForTeachers #TrueCrimePodcast #Accountability
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?
Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
His teacher, Abby Zwerner, left on a stretcher — shot in the chest and hand while protecting her students.
Now, in a Virginia courtroom, that day is being dissected hour by hour. The $40 million civil trial of Abby Zwerner v. Ebony Parker has become a national referendum on what happens when warnings are ignored — when fear, policy, and denial outweigh basic human instinct.
In this episode, Tony Brueski takes you inside the courtroom where teachers, reading specialists, and administrators are testifying about the morning of January 6, 2023 — the morning they say they begged Assistant Principal Ebony Parker to act.
Four separate warnings.
Four opportunities to stop a six-year-old from shooting his teacher.
And nothing was done.
You’ll hear how Zwerner’s lawyers are methodically walking the jury through every missed red flag — from the teacher who saw the boy shove something heavy into his backpack to the reading specialist who asked to search it and was told, “His pockets are too small.”
The defense says it was unforeseeable — that no one could’ve predicted a child that young pulling the trigger.
The testimony says otherwise.
This isn’t just about one classroom.
It’s about every system that hears the alarm and still stands still.
And it’s about a teacher who’s forcing the system to finally answer for its silence.
#HiddenKillers #AbbyZwerner #EbonyParker #RichneckElementary #SchoolShooting #CivilTrial #Negligence #EducationSystem #JusticeForTeachers #TrueCrimePodcast #Accountability
Want to comment and watch this podcast as a video?
Check out our YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/@hiddenkillerspod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hiddenkillerspod/
Tik-Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@hiddenkillerspod
X Twitter https://x.com/tonybpod
Listen Ad-Free On Apple Podcasts Here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/true-crime-today-premium-plus-ad-free-advance-episode/id1705422872
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